There are many reasons why people faint but medically speaking, you faint because there is a sudden drop in oxygen supply to your brain. This dip in oxygen could be due to a number of reasons and repeated spells of fainting must be taken seriously to check if the reason is some underlying medical condition. However, if you’re fainting because of lifestyle-related triggers, you can try home remedies that improve your blood circulation and keep your brain active.
Causes Of Fainting
There could be several reasons for fainting. The internal trigger is usually your vagus nerve. This nerve connects the digestive system to the brain and manages the blood flow to the gut. And you tend to faint when the vagus nerve pulls too much blood from the brain to the gut. Some of the medical reasons for fainting include:
- Dehydration: When the water level in your body is low, stimulating the vagus leads to dizziness and fainting.
- Psychological Triggers: It’s common for people to pass out when they see blood. Panic disorder, anxiety, and stress can stimulate the vagus nerve in some people and lead to a loss of consciousness.
- Shock: Fainting due to shock is not related to the vagus nerve. Shock is a condition where low blood pressure that often leads to a loss of consciousness.
- Drugs or Alcohol: Drinking alcohol and taking certain drugs makes you urinate more. The loss of water makes your blood pressure drop. The combined effect of water-loss and sedation makes you faint or pass out.
- Heart Irregularities: Your heart is the organ that forces blood through your veins and arteries. If the heart beats too fast or too slow, it can’t keep the blood pressure up as high as it needs to be. This could lead to fainting.
Types Of Fainting
Though most people understand fainting as just becoming unconscious, medically, fainting can range from subtle to violent. Usually, when the brain stops getting enough blood flow to stay conscious, it stops sending out signals to the muscle cells. The muscles lose their tone and the body just collapses.
Sometimes, that sudden exit of blood from the brain could lead to a little nervous impulse similar to a static through a phone line. It may result in a bit of a tremble or shake. It could also look like a shudder or a short seizure.
You could also experience an involuntary jerk known as myoclonic contraction before fainting. While a myoclonic contraction is not a seizure, true seizures can also cause a sudden loss of consciousness.
Home Remedies For Fainting
1. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar is a simple and effective way to prevent fainting. Just take 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in 8 oz of water and drink it often. This remedy can help prevent future fainting spells and also clear up the airway passage of the respiratory system ensuring unrestricted breathing.
2. Basil Tea
Try basil tea if you’re experiencing repeated spells of fainting. Make basil tea using 3 tablespoons of fresh basil and 8 oz of boiling water and then boil it for 15 to 20 minutes. Have this tea several times a day. Basil tea is a natural antispasmodic, antidepressant and nerve stimulant. You can have basil tea immediately after a fainting spell to help make you feel better.
3. Increase Oxygen Supply To Brain
You can also help someone who has fainted by making the person lie flat on the ground, face up. Then raise the legs a little higher than the head so that there is higher oxygen supply to the brain. This can help the person regain consciousness.
4. Peppermint Oil
Peppermint oil is rich in antispasmodic compounds that can soothe tensed nerves. Also, the refreshing smell of peppermint oil stimulates the brain to work more efficiently. All you need to do is put three drops of oil on a handkerchief and keep it close to the nose of the fainted person to revive them.
5. Onion
This is simple kitchen remedy to revive someone who has fainted. Cut an onion in two halves and position the open half directly beneath the nostrils of the fainted person. The strong, pungent smell of the onion will activate the nerves of the brain helping the fainted person to regain consciousness.
6. Gingko
Gingko is a tree that’s native to China and is known as a memory booster and used in treating circulatory problems. This traditional medicine is great to improve circulation to the brain. The recommended dosage is 40 to 80 grams of gingko extract for three times in a day. However, if you’re on antidepressants, blood pressure lowering drugs, anticonvulsants, blood thinning drugs or any other medication, talk to your doctor before having gingko.
7. Ginger
Ginger is a rhizome whose root is widely used in traditional folk medicine for a variety of treatments. It helps overcome delirium, stupor, and unconsciousness caused to the brain when fainting. To make the cure, take one part of pippali (Long Pepper), one part of black pepper, and one part of ginger and grind them all in a blender and then apply on the nostrils in small amounts.
